The University of Colorado’s athletic department is projecting that it will run a $27 million deficit during the current fiscal year ending in June 2026, in addition to needing $11.9 million in institutional support from the university and $2.2 million from student fees, according to budget figures obtained by USA TODAY Sports.

Those numbers are not final. The athletic department is hoping to bring that deficit down by the end of June with revenue from donations, sponsorships and concerts at Folsom Field. But it has never reported a deficit that big before, which could potentially leave the athletic department in need of more than $41 million in subsidies from the university, including the institutional support and student fees.

It also comes at a critical time:

• Athletic director Rick George announced recently he’s stepping down at the end of the fiscal year in June.
• Colorado nearly doubled the pay of football coach Deion Sanders in March, giving him a new five-year contract worth more than $10 million annually. His team just finished 3-9 in 2025 as attendance started to wane after selling out his first season in 2023.
• Like other major college sports programs, Colorado is committed to providing players with up to $20.5 million in annual benefits and direct payments under terms of the NCAA-House legal settlement. That cost is new this year, with the $20.5 million cap going up by 4% next year and the year after.

The latter two costs are the biggest reasons for the projected deficit — the $20.5 million for players and the $10 million per year for Sanders. Colorado previously told USA TODAY Sports in September it was “to be determined” how it would come up with the money to pay for those two big new costs.

Colorado says it won’t cut sports

The projected answer now is that it will run a deficit with the university as the potential backstop for funding.  Asked who would be paying for these expenses if not the university, spokesman Steve Hurlbert said, “The mechanics of that are still to be determined.”

The school said it will “not cut sports nor cut any resources for student-athletes” but will look to cut expenses.

Hurlbert also stressed tuition money and state funds will not be used to address the deficit.

However, some observers who are familiar with Colorado’s budget expressed skepticism about that claim because money is fungible. The money the university provides to athletics also is discretionary.

“This notion that they’re spending resources that otherwise couldn’t be spent on putting more kids through college or funding cancer research is just absurd,” said Jack Kroll, a former member of the university’s Board of Regents. “There’s no truth to that whatsoever.”

‘The university will have to fill the gap’

The projected revenue for fiscal year 2026 is $136.7 million with $163.7 million in expenses. The biggest expense is football at $60.4 million. The department is still finalizing its numbers for fiscal year 2025, which ended in June 2025, but said it expects a “balanced” budget of $141 million in revenues and expenses for that year, including $24 million in institutional support revenue from the Boulder campus and the university’s president’s office.

Colorado isn’t the only school facing these challenges. In fiscal 2024, at least 33 athletic departments received at least $30 million in university support, including Colorado ($31.9 million), Houston ($38.4 million), Arizona State ($51.7 million) and South Florida ($63.7 million), according to public records collected by USA TODAY Sports in conjunction with the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database at Syracuse University.

The House settlement added a potential new $20.5 million expense to their bills starting July 1, 2025.

At Colorado, last year the university projected a small but growing budget deficit for the campus starting in fiscal 2027. It even told faculty and staff to move forward by “being comfortable with being uncomfortable.” This has led to concerns about how football is paying for its big new expenses.

“With a lame-duck athletic director, a dismal football season, who-knows-what to happen with the (transfer) portal, donor fatigue, the distancing of football leadership from football alums — the prospects for making much of a dent in that deficit seem very slim,” said Roger Pielke, an emeritus professor at Colorado who previously taught sports governance in the CU athletics department. “That would mean that the university will have to fill the gap.”

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

The UConn Huskies women’s basketball team can beat you many different ways, as evidenced by the defending champion’s wire-to-wire 85-51 win over the South Florida Bulls on Tuesday. 

The No. 1 Huskies can beat you with their balanced scoring and depth, finishing with four players in double-digits. Sophomore forward Sarah Strong led the way with 14 points and 10 rebounds in 25 minutes, followed by Blanca Quinonez (13 points), Azzi Fudd (10 points, two steals) and Ashlynn Shade (10 points).

UConn can also beat you on the defensive end. The Huskies held the Bulls to 51 points (their second-lowest total this season) and forced South Florida into 20 turnovers (tied for a season-high) at Yuengling Center in Tampa, Florida on Tuesday. The Huskies scored 26 points off the Bulls’ turnovers.

“There’s not a box they do not check,” ESPN analyst and former UConn star Rebecca Lobo on Tuesday. UConn head coach Geno Auriemma added he ‘didn’t have a whole lot to complain about’ after the impressive win.

The Huskies improve to 8-0 on the season and UConn is 35-0 all-time against South Florida with the win. The Bulls dropped their first home game and fall to 5-4 on the season.

USA TODAY Sports provided live updates and highlights from Tuesday’s matchup. Catch up below:

End of 3Q: Huskies 65, South Florida 29

South Florida turned in their best quarter of the game, scoring 13 points the frame. The Bulls are still trailing the UConn Huskies by 36 points heading into the fourth quarter.

UConn sophomore forward Sarah Strong has already recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, her fourth double-double in eight games. Strong is one of four UConn players in double-digits: Blanca Quinonez (13 points), Azzi Fudd (10 points) and Ashlynn Shade (10 points).

No Bulls players has reached double-digits yet. Senior forward L’or Mputu has a team-high eight points, while senior forward Carla Brito added five points.

Halftime: UConn 48, South Florida 16

UConn held South Florida to six points in the second quarter and have a 34-point halftime lead over the Bulls. Four different players have scored eight or more points for the Huskies, including Blanca Quinonez (13 points), Sarah Strong (10 points), Azzi Fudd (eight points) and Ashlynn Shade (six points).

The Huskies have shined from the 3-point line, shooting 8-of-16 from beyond the arc. And UConn’s defense has been impenetrable thus far. The Huskies have forced the Bulls into 12 turnovers, which the defending champions converted into 19 points.

Senior forward L’or Mputu has a team-high six points for South Florida, who is collectively shooting 6-of-27 (22%) from the field and 0-of-8 from the 3-point line. The Bulls are outrebounding the Huskies 20-17, including 6-2 offensive boards, but they must get some stops and make the most of their second chance opportunities to get back into the game.

End of Q1: UConn 29, South Florida 10

It’s raining 3-pointers in Tampa, Florida. Two days after UConn shot 50% from beyond the arc in the team’s 104-39 win over Xavier, the Huskies opened Tuesday’s game against South Florida shooting 5-of-8 (63%) from the 3-point line and 65% from the field. Blanca Quinonez (eight points) and Ashlynn Shade (six points) have each made two 3-pointers, while Sarah Strong (five points) made the other. Azzi Fudd added eight points.

The Bulls have not made a shot from beyond the arc (0-of-3) and are shooting a dismal 23% from the field. The Huskies pressure has also resulted in five Bulls turnovers. L’or Mputu has a team-high six points.

UConn has early lead after perfect start

UConn came out on a mission against South Florida on Tuesday. Ashlynn Shade got the Huskies on the board with a 3-pointer, one of four consecutive buckets made by the Huskies to build a quick 10-0 lead. 

The Huskies started out 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 from the 3-point line, while the Bulls opened 0-of-3 from the field and 0-of-1 from 3. South Florida responded with a jolt of their own to come within eight points with 4:58 remaining in the first quarter.

UConn’s Azzi Fudd leads all scorers with six points in five minutes.

South Florida is already up to three turnovers. 

What time is UConn vs. Louisville?

The UConn Huskies travel to Tampa, Florida to take on the South Florida Bulls on Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 5:00 p.m. (2:00 p.m. PT) ET at the Yuengling Center.

UConn vs. South Florida: TV, streaming

• Date: Tuesday, Dec. 2
• Time: 5:00 p.m. ET (2:00 p.m. PT)
• Location: Yuengling Center (Tampa, Florida)
• TV: ESPN2
• Stream: Fubo, ESPN Unlimited

UConn Huskies starting lineup

• (2) KK Arnold
• (12) Ashlynn Shade
• (21) Sarah Strong
• (22) Serah Williams
• (35) Azzi Fudd

South Florida Bulls starting lineup

Head coach: Michele Woods-Baxter (interim)

• (1) Katie Davidson
• (11) Kirsten Lewis-Williams
• (13) Stefanie Ingram
• (21) L’or Mputu
• (55) Carla Brito

UConn women’s basketball roster

UConn women’s basketball TV schedule

Here’s a look at the Huskies’ upcoming schedule:

South Florida women’s basketball roster

2026 WNBA mock draft: UConn’s Azzi Fudd vaults to No. 1 spot

When the 2026 WNBA draft kicks off on Monday, April 13, 2026, all eyes will turn to the Dallas Wings, who own the No. 1 overall pick. Unlike last year, when it was widely known Paige Bueckers was going to be the top pick, there isn’t a consensus No. 1 pick for 2026. 

Will it be Spain center Awa Fam? Will it be UConn Huskies guard Azzi Fudd? Could TCU Horned Frogs guard Olivia Miles or UCLA Bruins center Lauren Betts be the choice? Or will it be a selection that sends shockwaves through the basketball landscape? Check out Meghan Hall’s 2026 WNBA mock draft here.

From facing to fueling UConn: Kayleigh Heckel’s seamless transition

If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. That may not be exactly how sophomore Kayleigh Heckel ended up playing for No. 1-ranked UConn, but it is true that she finished her freshman season at USC with a loss to the team she ended up joining after entering the transfer portal.

‘My last game at USC was against UConn,’ Heckel said in a video posted by UConn prior to the season. ‘The stakes were high, was the Elite Eight game, so excited to to be on this side now.’

South Florida longtime head coach hired by Dallas Wings

The Dallas Wings hired longtime University of South Florida head coach Jose Fernandez in October. Fernandez spent 25 seasons at the helm of the Bulls women’s basketball team before transitioning to the WNBA and will be succeed by interim head coach Michele Woods-Baxter at South Florida.

Fernandez will take over a Wings team that finished 10-34 last season, tied for last place in the WNBA standings with the Chicago Sky, despite a sensational Rookie of the Year campaign from the Wings 2025 No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers. Bueckers averaged 19.2 points, 5.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals while shooting 47.4% from the floor, 33.1% from the 3-point line and 88.8% from the free throw line.

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Williamson has already dealt with injuries during the 2025-26 season. On Nov. 19, he had just returned from a two-week absence while nursing a hamstring issue. He’d played in five of the Pelicans’ last seven games since his return, but Pels’ fans knew something was wrong in the air when he was sidelined for the team’s contest against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Williamson has performed well when healthy, averaging over 22 points in ten appearances this season. However, the former No. 1 overall pick has seen his career marred by constant injuries. He’s only played in more than 60 games twice over the course of his seven-year career.

Here’s everything we know about Williamson’s latest injury.

How did Williamson get injured?

Williamson suffered his adductor injury during the Pelicans’ Nov. 29 loss to the Golden State Warriors.

It is unclear when exactly he suffered the injury, but it was not expected to be serious at first. Williamson was forced to miss Sunday’s bout against the Los Angeles Lakers but was considered questionable to play Tuesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves until news of the severity of his injury was revealed.

How long will Williamson be out?

Williamson will miss at least the next three weeks before being re-evaluated by team officials.

The Pelicans have nine games scheduled in that window. The team has announced that they will provide updates on Williamson’s recovery as ‘appropriate.’

Zion Williamson injury history

Here is a list of injuries that Zion Williamson has suffered during his NBA career that have forced him to miss extended time.

• Oct. 14, 2019 to Jan. 22, 2020: knee injury
• Aug. 10, 2020 to Dec. 14, 2020: knee injury
• May 8, 2021 to Oct. 4, 2022: foot injury
• Jan. 4, 2023 to Oct. 10, 2023: hamstring injury
• Apr. 17, 2024 to Oct. 6, 2024: hamstring injury
• Nov. 8, 2024 to Jan. 7, 2025: hamstring injury
• Mar. 21, 2025 to June 30, 2025: lower back injury
• Nov. 3, 2025 to Nov. 19, 2025: hamstring injury
• Nov. 29, 2025 to indefinite: adductor injury

Denny Hamlin, the NASCAR driver and co-owner of 23XI Racing with Michael Jordan, returned to the witness stand on Day 2 of the NASCAR antitrust trial. From their own attorney, Hamlin fielded a question that cuts to the heart of the federal lawsuit.

Was it a hard decision not to sign the charter agreement this year?

The costly charter agreements guarantee teams a spot in the Cup Series races and a portion of NASCAR’s revenue. But 23XI Racing called the terms a take-it-or-leave-it-deal and, along with Front Row Motorsports, refused in 2024 to sign the last charter agreement.

“I don’t sign because I know that this is essentially my death certificate for the future,’’ said Hamlin, the three-time Daytona 500 winner.

Did he think it was the right decision?

“I think it was the only decision,’’ he said.

It was a decision that ultimately led to the antitrust trial that could reshape or damage the current state of stock car racing.

Hamlin’s testimony was among the highlights in the federal courtroom Tuesday, Dec. 2 in Charlotte, North Carolina, where the case is being heard. Jeff Gluck of The Athletic wrote of the testimony that lasted about four hours over two days, ‘It was extremely bitter and emotionally charged, as Hamlin’s anger toward NASCAR was on full display.”According to the Associated Press, Hamlin was asked why on podcast appearances he paints a rosier picture of NASCAR?

“You can take all my things out of context and paint a picture that everything is fine,” Hamlin said, according to the Associated Press. “The reality is, (being) negative affects me in (technical inspection), getting called to the hauler, NASCAR not liking what I said.”

Hamlin also tried to explain texts on possibly selling part of his share of the team, according to Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports, who of Hamlin’s explanations wrote on X, ‘He said at one point he was frustrated and needed to get the ownership group attention. And long term he would want to sell to make money, that’s business 101.’

NASCAR executive takes stand

Scott Prime, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer for NASCAR, took the stand Tuesday.

FOX Sports’ Pockrass wrote on X that Prime was ‘being grilled by 23XI atty Jeffrey Kessler on early charter negotiation strategy” and his and NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell’s reaction to LIV Golf and early team negotiating demands.’

Adam Stern of the Sports Business Journal wrote, ‘(Kessler) said NASCAR’s actions and internal messages show its executives tried to ward off potential competition and had taken note of how LIV Golf was disrupting golf. The teams charge that NASCAR did this through actions such as tying up tracks with onerous exclusivity agreements, underpaying teams and putting intellectual property patents on its race cars to make them unusable elsewhere.’

NASCAR finances

Jenna Fryer of the Associated Press filed a report with revealing financial figures that offer context in the court case.

$20 million: How much Hamlin said it costs a year to run one race car a year, while NASCAR CEO Jim France said it should cost only $10 million a year.

$100 million: How much Hamlin said he and Jordan have spent building 23XI Racing since it was founded in September 2020.

$100 million: NASCAR made slightly more than that during 2024, according to the pretrial discovery process. It’s also the amount Front Row Motorsports has lost since it started in 2004, according to team owner Bob Jenkins, whose team is a plaintiff in the case.

$5 billion: The value of NASCAR based on a 2023 evaluation by Goldman Sachs, according to attorney Jeffrey Kessler, who represents 23XI Racing.

AI-assisted summary
• Eighty-two teams have qualified for the college football postseason, including two teams transitioning to the top division.
• Conference championship games this weekend will determine the final bowl matchups and College Football Playoff contenders.
• Several teams, including Alabama and Notre Dame, face uncertainty regarding their final bowl placements.

We know the 82 teams that will participate in the college football postseason. What we don’t know is where they will play with the College Football Playoff race entering the final weekend of the regular season.

The questions that remain revolve around the conference championship games that feature playoff contenders, including games in the American and Sun Belt that will decide the Group of Five representative of the field.

It appears eight or nine teams are locked in. The playoff rankings Tuesday might adjust this perspective, but it’s fair to assume Ohio State, Indiana, Georgia, Texas Tech, Oregon, Mississippi, Texas A&M and Oklahoma are locks. Notre Dame appears in good shape with its season complete but that could change after the final weekend.

The fun begins with Alabama, which was ranked No. 10 by the committee last week. Should the Crimson Tide – currently in the final at-large spot, – fall from the field with a loss to Georgia in the SEC title game? The nature of the loss will have an impact, as could the result of Texas Tech and Brigham Young in the Big 12 title game. Should the Cougars beat the Red Raiders, they’d be in the field and likely knock out a three-loss Alabama. The Crimson Tide could be out even if BYU loses with Miami, Utah and Vanderbilt sitting behind the Cougars.

The winner of North Texas and Tulane will be in. But a second Group of Five contender could disrupt things. If James Madison wins the Sun Belt, the Dukes could claim a spot if five-loss Duke wins the ACC title game against Virginia.

Further down the postseason, there were exactly 82 teams finishing with the six wins needed for bowl eligibility. Two of those came from transition teams Missouri State and Delaware that would not allowed to participate in the postseason unless there were open spots. Welcome to the party, fans of the Bears and Blue Hens.

Notes: Not all conferences will fulfill their bowl allotment. An asterisk represents a replacement pick. Legacy Pac-12 schools in other conferences will fulfill existing Pac-12 bowl agreements through the 2025 season.

As negotiations continue between the WNBA and the WNBPA on a new CBA, Sports Business Journal reported the players association plans to reject the league’s latest offer.

According to the report, it is partially due to ‘vague pay-scale projections.’ The WNBPA reportedly has concerns about the league’s ‘math.’ The WNBA has proposed an average salary of $500,000. But with a proposed salary cap of $5 million a team and 12 players, the numbers do not add up. The salary cap would reportedly increase over the length of the CBA and be directly tied to the league’s revenue growth each year. Specific revenue-sharing details haven’t been disclosed.

USA TODAY Sports reached out to the WNBA for comment.

The league’s latest offer to the players’ association includes a max base salary of $1 million guaranteed, with the opportunity to make more than $1.2 million in conjunction with projected revenue sharing. The WNBA’s offer raises the minimum player salary to more than $225,000 and the average salary to $500,000, up from $220,000 and $460,000, respectively, in the WNBA’s previous proposal on Nov. 18.

The league also reportedly proposed increasing the length of the season, which could include an earlier start date. If the date is moved up, it could interfere with the end of the women’s college basketball season, the WNBA draft and other leagues like Unrivaled and Project B. The 2025 WNBA season started on May 16 with training camp opening on April 28. (The current CBA technically allows the start of training camp as early as April 1 but no more than 30 days before the season starts.)

The two sides to extend the bargaining window through Jan. 9.

AI-assisted summary
• The New England Patriots, with the league’s best record at 11-2, have moved up the ranks.
• Significant jumps in the rankings include the Houston Texans, Buffalo Bills, and Chicago Bears as five teams crack the top 10.

NFL power rankings entering Week 14 of the 2025 season (previous rank in parentheses):

1. Los Angeles Rams (1): Yeah, they lost … on the East Coast … in a rain storm … QB Matthew Stafford uncharacteristically throwing as many interceptions (2) in the first quarter as he had all season entering Sunday. Maybe the only concerning red flag here was how the defense was gashed on the ground by Carolina. Otherwise? We’re giving LA a mulligan on this one.

2. New England Patriots (3): It’s quite tempting to declare the team with the NFL’s best record (11-2) as the league’s best. But as much as QB Drake Maye and Co. have shown this season, we need to see just a little more − and against better competition.

4. Green Bay Packers (5): Beat the archrival Bears on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep of the NFC North in a three-week period, and the Pack might just find itself atop the conference standings.

5. Denver Broncos (4): In some respects, they resemble a Rocky Mountain version of the Seahawks, sporting an often dominant D and a quarterback who can be great … and also a total wild card.

6. Houston Texans (11): The Seahawks allegedly have the best defense in the world, but the numbers support the Texans − who are allowing the fewest points and yards per game in the league. Now, is it good enough to snap a five-game losing streak to the Chiefs?

7. Buffalo Bills (12): The league’s No. 1 rushing attack is fresh off producing a season-high 249 yards − which are also the most gained at Pittsburgh in half a century.

8. Chicago Bears (15): They’ve swept the NFC East. They’ve swept Pennsylvania. If the team currently sitting atop the NFC can win at Lambeau Field on Sunday, then any notions of fraudulence should be fully put to bed.

10. San Francisco 49ers (14): They’ll only leave Silicon Valley once more in the regular season and, at 9-4, the Niners are very much in the mix to snag home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

13. Indianapolis Colts (8): They’ve won once since acquiring CB Sauce Gardner, who’s out for an indefinite period with a calf injury.

16. Baltimore Ravens (10): They’re averaging 20 points and nearly three turnovers per game over the past three weeks, though QB Lamar Jackson did look a bit more spry in the Thanksgiving loss to Cincinnati.

17. Carolina Panthers (20): Getting RB Chuba Hubbard reintegrated into the offense seems like a wise move. It sure paid off in Sunday’s upset of the Rams, when he had a season-high 19 touches and 124 yards.

19. Los Angeles Chargers (17): Better to go into a Monday night game against a salty Philly D with a quarterback fresh off surgery for a broken (non-throwing) hand? Or Trey Lance?

20. Cincinnati Bengals (23): As obviously important as it is to have QB Joe Burrow back in the lineup, this team’s story might be equally influenced by a defense that the locker room almost universally cited for beating Baltimore. Cincy has certainly been much better on that side of the ball in recent weeks.

21. Pittsburgh Steelers (18): You actually don’t want to fire Mike Tomlin, yinzers. You want to trade him for a first-round draft pick.

25. Washington Commanders (27): Their valiant play in Sunday night’s loss to the Broncos is a pretty good testament to coach Dan Quinn and a team that could easily have packed it in by now.

30. New York Giants (28): To summarize for any prospective head coaches − the rookie quarterback is determined to play recklessly, and the rookie pass rusher seems determined … not to play all that much.